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help lice in 2 week old guineas

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clairelove

clairelove

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just rang the vets regards to the 2 2wk old guineas along with the mother i have had in this morning and the vet sez there is nothing they can use on them as they are so young does anyone know what i can use to get rid of them i thought about bathing them in baby shampoo what do you think the vets said frountline but this cant be used can it
 
Hi there,

No you can't use frontline (I don't think anyway.)

From my own experience I had a mum with her litter of 4 babies all with lice. I waited till the babies were above 400 grams then treated with XENO mini. They were all fine and fit and healthy. Though I know it isn't supposed to be used on babies.

Alternatively you could try Gorgeous guineas Lice 'n' Easy but like XENO I think that it guineas should be over 16 weeks old. But you could ask Chrissie.

This is just what I have done in the past, so someone else might have a better idea!

Layla
 
If they are really bad I would probably treat then, as if they are at more risk with waiting than not, then really you have to do something.
 
Fi treated the babies from chippenham with the lice and easy but do not leave it on just shampoo in well and wash off we sometimes did this 3 times on the worst ones, (remembering to do face and under chin and legpits) and treat mum as usual leaving on for 5 minutes, and try using a nit comb to remove some if possible and make sure you blow dry them really well and keep them out of any draughts or colds, you will probably have to repeat 3 times with the 7 to 10 day interval to get rid of all of them. Making sure to clean the cage throughly before you put back in. Best of luck
 
When we bought two of our guinea-pigs (at 6-weeks of age), they had lice. We told the petshop owner and she gave us some Ivermectin and told us to put just a tiny dab on the back of their necks, but it didn't make any difference (presumably because the dose was too low). I looked on Peter Gurney's website and he recommended Neem oil for lice. We treated all our guinea-pigs (including the 6-week-old ones) without any problems and it worked brilliantly. They're still lice-free over 2-months later. You can get organic Neem oil cheaply off eBay (a 100ml bottle which will last ages costs about the same as 3-phials of Ivermectin). Dilute 1 part Neem oil with 3 parts carrier oil (we used extra virgin olive oil as it doesn't have any chemical nasties in it). Wash it off after 2-days, wait 5-days and then repeat the above procedure.

Here's the link:

http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/skinp.htm
 
I am pretty sure ivermectin only works on mites and not lice as lice live off the skin scurf and not the blood of the animal and thus would be useless
 
ive bathed them mum and babies in lice and mite shampoo seems to have washed alot off thank god and they all let me bath/blow-dry them with no struggle and nit combed them got few off,,the remainder lice seemed dead after wards but will soon see 2moz :))they seem fine now, no after affects.:... they are feeding off mummy x)x)
 
Glad it went well for you, i think the youngest i bathed from the chippenham lot was 3 weeks old by that method and the babies were much easier than the most of the adults! Hope they are feeling less itchy now :)
 
I'm on the look out for that guinea that steals my heart in 4 and a half weeks for my boar he was done neally 2wks ago all my girls are paired up with other girls only really want 1 for him x)that will take the toll to 7 of my own:)):))
 
lovelygirl said:
I am pretty sure ivermectin only works on mites and not lice as lice live off the skin scurf and not the blood of the animal and thus would be useless
Click to expand...

Sorry, my mistake. I meant mites. The Neem oil would still work though.
 
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Glad you've found something that's worked. :)

I wonder why the vet didn't recommend the shampoo - is he not allowed to, do you think?
 
the vet said there is nothing licenced to use on guineas this young..they said use a little of cat/dog frontline spray on a woolball and rub it on them but i said it sez on the bottle dangerous in rabbits i said wouldnt this be the same for guineas then she said well we dont know its at your own risk i said think i will bath them first as i dont want to harm them..i used johnsons lice and mite shampoo for small animals i know it isnt very good, but thought well it wont be that strong on the guineas but it seems to have worked anyway..all the lice seem to be dead now..:)
 
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